FOI reveals one in five drivers with penalty points got them before they passed

Thousands of learner drivers already have penalty points for speeding and going through red lights before they pass their test, new figures show.

A third of people believe driving instructors or the person accompanying learners should be responsible if learners are penalised, while more than one in ten believe that they should take the points – despite this being illegal.

Almost 54,000 people with provisional licences currently have penalty points on their licence with the majority being for driving too fast, a Freedom of Information request revealed.

I am a journalist and author. I am a staff writer at the UK edition of WIRED magazine and in 2015 my book, Freedom of Information: A Practical Guide for UK Journalists, was published. I created FOI Directory in 2012.